Susquehanna Township High School students fall short of targets for adequate yearly progress

While Susquehanna Township School District officials trumpeted the academic progress of elementary and middle school students in 2011, they acknowledged the need for strong intervention to reverse lagging scores at the high school.

In 2010, Susquehanna Township High School met targets measuring adequate yearly progress on the state’s PSSA tests, but this year, the school seesawed back to 2009 status — warning, for failure to make AYP.

In high school, only juniors take PSSAs. The latest results from tests given in the spring show that white students exceeded the state’s PSSA performance goals of 67 percent of students proficient in math and 72 percent in reading. However, their scores slumped when compared to their 2010 predecessors — from 77 percent proficient in math to 72 percent, and from 89 percent proficient in reading to 78 percent.

African-American students, who comprise nearly half the district’s enrollment, fell short of the 2011 targets. So did low-income students and those with individualized education plans.

During a presentation to the school board Monday night, Assistant Superintendent Cathy Taschner said differences between African-American and white students are narrowing, but board member Jesse Rawls said he’s tired of the district’s stubborn achievement gap. Many students don’t get to take the advanced classes that promote higher scores, he said.

“We’re all the same,” Rawls said. “Why are you going to belittle one race as to who’s the higher scorer? Psychologically, that's a problem. I’m fed up with this gap.”

Failure to improve next year could drop the school into a lower status level, where improvement plans are required and the state could impose consequences.

Board member Peter Sakol praised administrators for devising what they called an “action plan” to raise the junior-class scores that keep sinking high school progress.

Plan details remain unclear, but Taschner said that’s because it calls for an individualized approach for every student.

Administrators are scrutinizing achievement test scores and other benchmarks such as assessments to determine which students need intensive help to become math- and reading-proficient, she said.

Steps could include individualized instruction, teachers’ meetings, and in-class professional development for teachers, Taschner said. District officials have asked principals to help find time during the school day for the extra help, she said.

Parents will be informed of options as the district sends out individual PSSA results, Taschner said. School districts should receive those scores by the end of the month, according to the state Education Department’s communications office.

“I don’t think there has to be a one-size-fits-all solution,” Taschner said.

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